A body fat % question

shaddowstorm · February 2015

How do you know what yours is ?

I've reading about people needing help apparently their body fat % must be high. I have no idea what mine is or how to work it out.

Should I just buy a scale with the body fat % function ?

hobbeskastiel · February 2015

Do you live near an Albertsons or a Supervalue store? They have little kiosks that test you for body fat for free. They're not perfect but thy're pretty accurate.

Lrdoflamancha · February 2015

Scales with a body fat calculator are very inaccurate. A bodpod test is best but usually expensive. Lose weight and exercise more....

BusyRaeNOTBusty · February 2015

I just make a guess based on images like this:

taco_inspector · February 2015

The US Navy's body fat estimation calculator can give you a partial (pretty good) guess at where you are without buying anything (if you have a tape measure) (link to BizCalcs)

I use calipers -- less to calculate fat %; more to monitor for desired changes. (link to ExRx.net composition calc) -- 3-pinch is easy enough. I need help to get the 7-site pinch.

As for the scale, I've got two from the same manufacturer and they vary from each other and "change" (like, if one is lower than the other on one day, measurements the next day may 'reverse' as to which one if lower.) -- Probably the ~$80usd price-point for these, but I find my body fat scales useless for fat% (they seem to correlate well for water% as a measure of hydration/retention though)

McCloud33 · February 2015

Shy of doing a hydrostatic weighing or dexa scan, everything is going to be an approximation (and even those two aren't perfect). You can get a good idea of your range though by using a scale, calipers, body measurements, or comparing to pictures of other people who have been tested. You'll probably be within +/- 3% with all of those methods.

shaddowstorm · February 2015

Thanks. I live in Australia and never heard of Albertsons or a Supervalue stores.

Looking at those pics I guessed I would be between 20% - 25% range and just did that online navy test and it came back as 21% body fat. fat mass was 13kgs and lean mass was 47kgs.

If we assume this is correct.

shaddowstorm · February 2015

not sure what to do with this info. so I have 13kgs I can turn into muscle ?

taco_inspector · February 2015

It's tough to turn fat into muscle --- think of your fat more as a store of fuel that you've not used -- Lot's of folks have good results working their muscles to use that un-burned /stored fuel, and coupling that with proper nutrition, you can build additional muscle mass to consume fuel at a higher rate.

A more common approach is to lower your overall fuel intake, and allow yourself to reduce total weight (using exercise and proper nutrition to reduce the amount of non-fat weight loss). This way you loose overall weight and both fat and lean body mass... Then, once your fat% is sufficiently low, you can re-create (add) lost muscle and explore building excess muscle with more targeted exercise and tuned nutrition.

Essentially, your 13kgs are only fat; energy that you can consume any way you'd like.

@usmcmp‌ has laid-out some good thoughts in this thread, whihc may help you choose "next steps" http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

ndj1979 · February 2015

standenvernet wrote: »

It's tough to turn fat into muscle --- think of your fat more as a store of fuel that you've not used -- Lot's of folks have good results working their muscles to use that un-burned /stored fuel, and coupling that with proper nutrition, you can build additional muscle mass to consume fuel at a higher rate.

A more common approach is to lower your overall fuel intake, and allow yourself to reduce total weight (using exercise and proper nutrition to reduce the amount of non-fat weight loss). This way you loose overall weight and both fat and lean body mass... Then, once your fat% is sufficiently low, you can re-create (add) lost muscle and explore building excess muscle with more targeted exercise and tuned nutrition.

Essentially, your 13kgs are only fat; energy that you can consume any way you'd like.

@usmcmp‌ has laid-out some good thoughts in this thread, whihc may help you choose "next steps" http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

yea, you don't turn fat into muscle. Sorry but it does not work that way….

shaddowstorm · February 2015

so I just need to start working out pretty much

AABru · February 2015

Caloric deficit through cutting food or working out plus muscle building of some type...best scenario.

ndj1979 · February 2015

shaddowstorm wrote: »

so I just need to start working out pretty much

calorie deficit + lift more = body fat reduction

jemhh · February 2015

BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »

I just make a guess based on images like this:

This picture drives me a bit nuts. I think that a lot of women get a very skewed view of body fat from it. Look at #356 here for a view of what 31% bf (dexa tested) looks like. And #284 here for 17% and 27% (dexa scanned.) Then one more--#259 here for just under 26%, dexa scanned.

47Jacqueline · February 2015

jemhh wrote: »

BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »

I just make a guess based on images like this:

This picture is misleading if you are older. I look like (if I took off my coat, lol) the ones showing 20% fat, but I am nowhere near that percentage due to my age.

usmcmp · February 2015

standenvernet wrote: »

It's tough to turn fat into muscle --- think of your fat more as a store of fuel that you've not used -- Lot's of folks have good results working their muscles to use that un-burned /stored fuel, and coupling that with proper nutrition, you can build additional muscle mass to consume fuel at a higher rate.

A more common approach is to lower your overall fuel intake, and allow yourself to reduce total weight (using exercise and proper nutrition to reduce the amount of non-fat weight loss). This way you loose overall weight and both fat and lean body mass... Then, once your fat% is sufficiently low, you can re-create (add) lost muscle and explore building excess muscle with more targeted exercise and tuned nutrition.

Essentially, your 13kgs are only fat; energy that you can consume any way you'd like.

@usmcmp‌ has laid-out some good thoughts in this thread, whihc may help you choose "next steps" http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

It's easier to maintain your lean mass than it is to build lean mass. Also, fat doesn't turn into muscle. You can lose fat and build a little lean mass at the same time, but you aren't turning one into the other. My suggestion in that thread is basically to lift so you don't lose lean mass and eat in a deficit that still fuels your body appropriately.

A body fat % question

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